Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) by Mary Wasowski

irreversibly broken. This has been a long time coming, you must know this in your heart. We have grown apart and have been living two very separate lives. I want more, Samuel, and what we have here is not enough for me to stay. Samuel, I’m not trying to hurt you, but this conversation is long overdue. I want a divorce, and nothing you say will ever change my mind.”
    “Please don’t do this, Reese. We can go away. It can be a start, a new beginning for the two of us. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been the most attentive husband, but I’ve tried to be. Haven’t I given you a great life?” He gestured around the room. “You have everything you could ever want or need.”
    There was no greater distance between us than right there in that room. We were just staring at each other when Samuel finally spoke again. “Come here, Reese.”
    Hesitating at first until his eyes slowly pulled me in like a magnet, I walked over to him, and as I got closer, he pulled me into his chest.
    “Reese, what can I do to prove how much I love you?” he whispered into my ear.
    “Let me go,” I whispered back.
    He took in a ragged breath and held me tightly to him as he declared his love for me. Or maybe it was a declaration of his ownership of me. “I have never broken my promise to you since the day I proposed to you, Reese. I have loved you from the moment you woke up in that hospital room and you looked up at me with your beautiful eyes. Give me a chance to be that man again? Let me show you, Reese, how much I love you and can keep my promises.”
    I tried to free myself from his hold. He was trying, but he didn’t hold my heart, and I couldn’t stay in this marriage for one more day. All those years I carved out this idealistic life for myself and built the walls around myself like a protected fortress. This was not the life I wanted, but I lived it. My greatest gift was my daughter, Riley, that was it.
    Waiting for my answer, Samuel never took his eyes off of me. He began to unbutton my blouse, as my tears fell silently. He always got turned on every time we fought. Sometimes it was an amusing foreplay tactic, but other times it was just so inappropriate or frightening. Like this time. He had me trapped, and I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs for my freedom. Looking into his hurt eyes, I saw him clearly. He was a good man, always had been, but he deserved more than I was willing to give him. Our relationship had been barely existing over the last few years. Didn’t he know this? I tried to reach for his hands and talk to him once more.
    “Sex is not going to magically repair the holes that are in our marriage. I can’t do this anymore, Samuel. Please let me go.”
    He clenched his jaw and bore his eyes into mine. “You’re right, my love, it’s not always the answer, but at this moment it’s going to make me feel a lot better.”
    I tried to walk away, but he pulled me back into him. He turned me around and placed me on his desk. Holding my hands above my head with one of his, he began pressing his hard length into me. I was quiet and still. Samuel never hurt me, but when he showed this dominant side to him, sometimes it frightened me.
    “Samuel, please, Riley is waiting for me. We can talk about this when I get home.”
    “No, Reese, we won’t. Now stop fighting me, and let me love you.” I wanted him to stop, but he held on to me with a tight grasp. He could be so delicate when he had a scalpel in his hand, but also so incredibly strong. His grip tightened on my wrists. In one swift move, he pulled my skirt up and ripped my panties away from my body. He entered me with force, showing me that he was again in control. There was a time when I enjoyed this type of rough sex and the pleasure I got from it, but it wasn’t with Samuel. I closed my eyes and thought of Walker. Curse me for ever leaving him.
    With one last thrust, Samuel climaxed inside of me. Releasing my hands, he cupped my face, and now his anger